In the Closet
by Settiai
Summary: Mickey blamed the Doctor. His life had been perfectly normal until he'd met him. :: Liz/Mickey


Mickey Smith tried his best to ignore the yells, screams, and curses coming from behind him as he ran down yet another empty corridor. Not for the first time in the past few hours, he couldn't help but wonder why the hell he had thought it would be a good idea to check out the rumors he'd found on the internet about supposed alien sightings at an abandoned office building.

He should have known better.

Now here he was in a building filled with soldiers, a handful of men and women who'd arrived in a van with the word "Torchwood" stenciled on its side, and at least a dozen aliens that looked like giant rats and reminded him of Splinter from the iTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/i movies that he'd watched as a kid. Judging by the sporadic gunfire coming from behind him, whatever was happening wasn't going very well.

Mickey blamed the Doctor. His life had been perfectly normal, thank you very much, right up until that bloke had waltzed in, stole his girlfriend, and apparently turned him into an alien magnet. Until he'd met the Doctor, he'd never been wanted for murder, or fought Slitheen, or blown up Downing Street, or purposely went out looking for aliens . . .

It was right then that he went around a corner and collided with someone.

Mickey hit the ground with a thud, grimacing as his breath was knocked out of his lungs. It was a woman that he'd ran into. Her hair was mostly faded to white, with a hint of what once probably had been a vibrant red still visible. She could have been anywhere from her early fifties to her late sixties, though she looked much more spry than her age suggested.

They stared at each other for a moment, startled looks on both of their faces. Then a round of gunfire started up, sounding surprisingly closer than the last round.

Mickey clambered to his feet, offering the woman his hand as he stood up. She gratefully took it and let him help her up as well. As soon as she was off the floor, she tightened her grip on his hand and practically pulled him toward a nearby door.

"What are you doing?" Mickey asked, surprised.

She looked over her shoulder and shot him a smile. "Hiding before we get caught in the crossfire," she said, pushing the door open to reveal a broom cupboard. "Coming?"

Instead of replying, Mickey shoved past her into the small room. Actions spoke louder than words, in his opinion.

The woman quickly stepped in behind him, shutting the door. "Damn," she muttered, "there's no lock."

Mickey looked around, squinting in the dim light. His eyes lit up when he caught sight of a small ladder, and he grabbed it. "Will this work?" he asked.

"Perfectly," she replied with a small smile. She shoved it under the door's handle, holding it in place, before turning back toward him. "Well, as long as the Hudriks don't find us and rip the door off its hinges."

Letting out what he hoped was a manly snort instead of a scared gulp, Mickey cleared his throat. "What are the odds of that?"

His question came off sounding a little more terrified than he'd hoped.

The woman just smiled at him. "My name's Liz Shaw," she said, holding out her hand. "Dr. Liz Shaw. I was brought in to help UNIT."

"UNIT?" Mickey didn't even tried to hide the way his voice squeaked a bit at that question. Visions of missiles and the seat of British government blowing up thanks to him popped into his head. "The soldiers out there are with UNIT?"

Liz raised an eyebrow. "You've heard of UNIT?" she asked, suddenly sounding suspicious.

"Yeah," Mickey replied. Then he remembered that UNIT was supposed to be top secret and it probably would make him look even more suspicious if he claimed to know about it. "I mean, no. Well, sorta. It depends on how you look at it. I mean . . . oh, I'm going to kill the Doctor. If it's the last thing I do, I swear that I'm going to kill him."

To his surprise, Liz laughed. "You know the Doctor?" she asked sympathetically. "Well, that explains everything."

Sighing, Mickey leaned against the wall and sank down until he was sitting on the floor. Outside, the sound of gunfire was even louder than before. There were a lot of yells too, come to think of it, some of them in English and others - well, not so much.

"My name's Mickey," he said, leaning forward to rest his forehead on his propped up knees. "Mickey Smith. And I don't have a clue why I'm here."

Mickey heard another soft laugh, followed by a quiet rustling sound as Liz sat down beside him. He startled somewhat when she reached over and rested her hand on his arm. "Oh, I suspect that I know why you're here."

"Really?" he asked wryly, looking up to meet Liz's gaze. "Why's that?"

She replied with a wry look of her own. "The same reason I am," she said lightly. "You have better things to do than standing around telling the Doctor how much of a genius he is while the world burns around you. No matter what he believes, people other than him can save the day."

Despite himself, Mickey chuckled. "You do know him, huh?"

Liz laughed. It was equal parts amusement and regret, and Mickey could tell that there was a story behind the quiet sound that stretched back across a lifetime.

Without even considering what he was doing, Mickey leaned in and kissed her.

She froze the moment his lips touched hers, and he pulled away as he realized what he was doing. He didn't say anything as he stared at her, "Mickey the Idiot" jumping around his brain in the Doctor's voice. Liz stared right back, an unreadable expression on her face.

Then she smiled. 


End file.
